


Truth or Dare

by Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Comfort, M/M, Steve forced to say the truth is still a sassy little shit, Tropes, Truth Serum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 07:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13497418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness/pseuds/Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness
Summary: “I can’t lie.”“We know, darling, you’re the virtue of honesty,” Tony spoke from the other side of the room, fingers hovering above his holographic keyboard.“I just tried to lie just then, and I couldn’t speak. I can only say the truth.”“So what, you’ll finally admit you like wearing spandex?”





	Truth or Dare

**Author's Note:**

> A new addition to my tropes series, my previous ones had been shieldshock, but I really wanted to write Stony again, so here is my own addition to the Truth Serum trope!

Steve was fighting doombots, yet again. At this point the Avengers had inserted into their schedule an event for them, so they didn’t need to act surprised every time they’d appear. Doctor Doom was bored every other Tuesdays, Tony had concluded after JARVIS had finished a quick algorithm.

The team also had a tactic that never failed to work every time, so it didn’t take before they were at the last the last wave of doombots. Steve was punching one, thinking about the takeout food that for sure would be waiting for them back at the tower, when it oozed with white smoke. They regularly would explode after a dozen of his punches, so it didn’t surprise him, even though he noted he hadn’t really damaged it before he had to kick it away to be safe of the explosion. He focused on another robot and that was it.

The Quinjet landed down with the last of the doombot taken care of, and everyone filled it in. Steve sat down beside an armored Tony, a bit out of breath. His lungs felt funny, but it wasn’t until they were up in the air that he had a fit of dry cough. This was unusual.

Tony looked at him, concerned. Steve shrugged. “Probably dust from the buildings.”

“You feel fine?”

“Not really.” Huh. He hadn’t meant to say that. Judged by Tony’s expression, he hadn’t either.

“What happened?” Natasha, on the other side of him, leaned closer, checking him for wounds.

“J, do a body scan of the Cap, please.”

 “Mister Rogers is in perfect health and sustain no injuries, sir. However I do detect an odd pathology in his bloodstream.”

“Odd?” Tony asked.

“An unknown agent.”

“Steve, did something happen during the fight?”

“Many things happens during a fight,” Steve replied. Clint snorted on the other side.

“We’re trying to help, Captain Sassypants,” Tony scoffed with amusement. “She meant if anything unusual happened during the fight?”

Steve looked down at his hands, overwhelmed with the sudden urge to talk, his throat straining under his forced silence. It almost hurt not to do so. He slowly breathed out, for a second terrified that something had managed to sneak past the serum. “One of the doombots emitted white smoke and I inhaled it. I thought it was about to explode, and nothing else.”

“I’m researching for any similar occurrences during previous fights,” JARVIS announced.

“Thanks, J,” Tony replied, his mouth in a tight line. He was worried.

“White smoke could be anything,” Bruce said, but already he was taping something in the starkpad on his lap, Thor peering over his shoulder with curiosity.

Back at the tower, they decided to postpone the debrief to get more information on whatever Steve might have been infected with. Natasha was skimming through everything they knew about Doctor Doom for any clue on what he could’ve been working on.

“I’ll need to take a blood sample to analyze it, alright?” Bruce said when they were in his lab, or well, the Science Bros’ Lab™.

“No, I don’t like needles,” Steve admitted. He froze in the midst of peeling off the top half of his uniform and frowned. He hadn’t meant to say that, once again. He sat down, then opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried a few times, still nothing.

He sighed. “I can’t lie.”

“We know, darling, you’re the virtue of honesty,” Tony spoke from the other side of the room, fingers hovering above his holographic keyboard. Bruce, who was closer, approached him.

“What is it?”

“I just tried to lie just then, and I couldn’t speak. I can only say the truth.”

“So what, you’ll finally admit you like wearing spandex?”

“Tony,” Bruce reprimanded him just as Steve said, “It’s not the most comfortable, but forties’ tights were definitely worst.”

Tony laughed, then cleared his throat at Steve’s frown. “Sorry, it’s just…I’ll try not to ask too many questions.”

“I usually don’t mind, but I’d rather not confess anything right now.” Steve clapped his hand over his mouth, his face warm. That was embarrassing. Tony and Bruce didn’t mention it and just went on with taking his blood as quickly as possible.

“The Super Serum should’ve eliminated whatever you inhaled, so if it’s still in your blood…” Bruce didn’t finish his sentence, he didn’t need to.

Steve let the two of them work and decided to hide in his room for the rest of the day after taking food in the kitchen. The word that he couldn’t lie spread to the other Avengers, so no one bothered him.

He realized he could lie in his head, but he couldn’t lie through any form of communication, whether it was through verbal speech, ASL or writing. He even tried morse code, to no avail. The only way he found he could somehow tell a lie was by cutting words from newspapers and magazines and put them together. It was a waste of time, but it wasn’t like Steve could do much else. He drew a picture of being choked by his own hands, with small doombots around him.

Two days later he was out of food, he was getting fidgety from not exercising, and he was bored out of his mind from being on his own. He woke up at five and decided to go on his morning jog. He rarely ever got to talk to anyone if he ran fast, so he changed himself and crept to the communal kitchen to grab some of the energy balls stocked in the fridge. He drank water and ate a few before he was off.

The sun creeped up on Manhattan as he made his way to Central Park. At this hour there was nobody but for a few junkies and homeless persons, leaving him mostly alone to soak in the trees, the brisk weather and the noise of the wild animals around him. It was a run he was used to do by that point; sometimes he changed his course but preferred to keep the same, the park hiding him from the world ever in action.

“Excuse me sir, you got any change?” A young woman asked just as he was passing by her.  Now, normally he wouldn’t mind giving some, but this was different.

“I do, yeah.” He stopped, searched his armpocket for a few dollars.

“Ooh, thank you, sir. Say, you wouldn’t have more, for my friends?” She gestured to the others behind her, and he sighed.

He stepped in the tower’s kitchen an hour later, fresh out of the shower and of all his change. He made himself double the usual amount of pancakes to comfort himself, drowsing them in maple syrup just because there was no one to complain about him emptying it all.

He was looking for new books to add to his kindle when he heard footsteps in the hall. He knew for their pattern it was Tony, who never was subtle as Clint or Natasha, lighter than Thor and faster than Bruce.

“Good morning, mon Capitaine.”

“Morning. Wait, is it morning for you?”

Tony scrunched up his nose with a guilty look, and it was all the answer he needed. He went around him to get to the coffeemaker and squeezed his shoulder in passing, his fingers grazing the nape of his neck.

“I’ve been working on a solution for the truth serum. Apparently Doctor Doom thought that if it could work on you, it could work on anyone. It is still working, right?”

Steve nodded, not feeling as bad to answer simple yes or no questions. “I gave all my spare money to homeless people on my run, it was a great way to remind me of my current predicament.”

Long fingers wrapped around his steaming cup of coffee, Tony leaned on the opposite side of the kitchen island. “I’m sorry, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you. I mean, you’re already a very honest person, and not in a bad way, but there’s a difference between willingly saying the truth and being forced to spill it out. If Bruce and I can’t find a way to reverse the serum today, I’ll contact Doctor Strange.” He made a face at that, never at ease around magic, and for that Steve felt his chest grow tight with affection.

“Thank you, Tony.”

“You would do the same for me.”

Tony emptied his cup and filled it again, probably intending on returning to his workshop. Steve finished his last pancake and brought his dishes to the sink to start doing them.

“Before I return to my batcave, is there anything I can do to help you feel better, darling?” Tony asked.

 “I would very much like a hug from you.”

Oh no. The fork he’d been holding clattered at the bottom of the sink as he turned around. “I’m so sorry. Of course you don’t have to—“

Warm hands settled on his shoulders, as warm as Tony’s eyes. “Hey, it’s fine. I asked you, didn’t I? Now, come down a bit, or this might be awkward.”

It appeared Tony wasn’t much for physical contact longer than a few seconds, but he was excellent at giving hugs when he set his mind to it. This time wasn’t different… or perhaps it was? Despite being smaller, he wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled Steve to him, inviting him to lean against him. Steve made a small noise as he pressed himself in his embrace and put his arms around him, his cheek against his shoulder.

“You smell good,” he found himself murmuring. Tony hummed, tightening his hold.

“That cologne is expansive, I hope I’m smelling good.”

No. Well, yes, he smelled of his cologne, but also of motor oil, cinnamon, coffee, warmth and comfort. He smelled like home.

“You do,” he replied, stepping away enough to look down at him. Tony didn’t move, his fingers sliding up in his hair. His eyes were so warm; his mouth, very inviting.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tony breathed, yet obviously wanting it. Steve might have fallen a little bit more in love at that.

“Sweetheart, my feelings and my actions aren’t influenced by the truth serum.”

The first contact of their lips was just a brush due to Steve’s sudden nervousness, but then Tony used his hand on the nape of his neck to turn his head just right and… oh. This was much, much better. His goatee was scratchy against his own clean-shaved skin, but not as much as he imagined, and it was a nice contrast to the softness of his mouth and his tongue.

Steve brought his hands down to his hips to bring him closer, grazed his tempting ass. Their kiss lasted until Tony was out of breath, and Steve couldn’t help but press a few more chaste kisses against his swollen lips before resting their foreheads together.

“Sweetheart, huh?”

“You call me darling all the time.”

“Huh.” Tony began tidying up his shirt, but Steve was pretty sure it was just another excuse to touch his chest and shoulders. “I guess that’s true.”

“Sirs, speaking of truth, I believe Doctor Banner found a solution to Mister Rogers’ problem,” Jarvis announced around them. Tony was immediately grabbing him by the hand and dragging him down the hall, Steve all too happy to follow him anywhere he went.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://captain-amoruca.tumblr.com/).


End file.
